Abraham Cruzvillegas: The Hyundai Commission

“When I say what I wanted to do here, it was an idea like having a piece of land that is empty…Just having something that is empty so you can drop your ideas something can grow.” - Abraham Cruzvillegas

Since 2000, Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall has exhibited many large-scale contemporary art installations and works. Since2015, the museum has collaborated with Hyundai Motor and unveiled the first Hyundai Commission. Abraham Cruzvillegas was the first Hyundai Commission artist to create on-site in the Turbine Hall.

The large installation Empty Lot comprises 240 wooden planters filled with soil collected from parks and gardens across London. Around Tate, Cruzvillegas found objects to create lamp posts that illuminated the soil. The inspiration for this work comes from Cruzvillegas’s migration experience. In the 1960s, his parents and local residents moved from rural Mexico to the city; at that time, living conditions were harsh, and life was poor. These immigrants from the countryside used discarded materials to stabilize buildings, overcoming environmental limitations. Empty Lot is a place without any planting or production. Over time and as viewers intervened, the work gradually underwent different changes. It explores issues related to the city and the environment, as well as ideas about chance, change, and hope. Visitors could look out over the entire work from above the hall, or move through the structure beneath the installation.